


side story: fleeting

by matsuseiji, stellafleur



Series: kishikan universe [1]
Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst, Creatures, F/M, Gen, Multi, Sad, Supernatural - Freeform, because her galaxy brain is amazing, this is mostly matsu's idea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:02:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23252884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matsuseiji/pseuds/matsuseiji, https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellafleur/pseuds/stellafleur
Summary: sometimes, the feelings of someone else, an old forgotten memory from a long ago past, would flit through him and his mind, and itaru wonders if the yearning he feels for her was his, or someone else's.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru/Tachibana Izumi
Series: kishikan universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671895
Comments: 13
Kudos: 62





	side story: fleeting

Itaru was in the middle of receiving a love confession again; at the very least, maybe getting invited out to dinner tonight. He knew, because the signs were all there. After the woman handed him the Valentine's chocolates, she stayed behind and asked him to wait a moment, and continued stretching the silence longer than what was necessary. She was looking everywhere but him now, and twirling her hands nervously.

He didn't want to waste any more precious time for his five-minute break, one that could be used for gaming, and he was mulling which fictional character he could describe he happened to be currently in love with to discourage her further, when Izumi entered his field of vision. 

She was carrying a box, ladened with files most likely, but work normally done by their first years and eager interns. However, since Izumi also happened to be the most convenient excuse right now, he beelined towards her, briefly thanking the woman for the chocolates.

His face immediately dropped into a scowl, his bad mood evident from having his precious break interrupted.

Izumi immediately recognized the look, her brow creasing into worry. "Hey. You."

Itaru grunted. "Why are you doing grunge work?"

She shrugged. "Tsuzuru needs my help. Feel kinda bad shoving no work on him this morning, so the others are kinda taking advantage of it. He's become my department's errand boy for the day. Coffee this and copy that."

"You're supposed to take advantage of your intern."

"You're so mean," Izumi clicked her tongue disappointedly. "Also, stop trying to dump work on him. He's mine. Get your own."

"It’s for his own good. I’m building up his stats, so he can level up faster in this cruel workplace,” Itaru pointed out matter-of-factly.

“I don’t even know what to say to that.”

The elevator doors finally opened, as Itaru playfully smirked at her, and she sighed in return. When they stepped inside, Izumi elbowed for the 32nd floor, while Itaru discreetly hid the fifth box of chocolates he received this morning under his arm. It didn’t work. As the elevator made its ascent, Izumi finally noticed the weird, colorful thing Itaru was trying to ignore in his left hand.

"What's that?," she gestured at it. 

"... Chocolates."

Itaru ended up explaining again, for some reason, about the receptionist on the fourth floor reaching out to him to hand him this, and was, perhaps, about to be invited out to dinner when he spotted her by the elevator, and he decided to help or something. He couldn't quite hide the pout in his voice about his coffee / gaming break being interrupted. 

Suddenly, her eyes twinkled with laughter, possibly remembering the ridiculous amount of gifts, handed to him, very comically, on this day every year. Itaru would've pushed for another day off, but since he already spent the latest one three days ago, he had no choice but to come today, on Valentine’s Day, of all days.

Also, he felt antsy leaving Izumi behind - the kind of anxiety that was getting harder to ignore now since the incident, and because past memories were returning - but he would rather die than admit that he tries to schedule their day-offs side-by-side, closely.

"Poor you," Izumi snorted. "It must be so difficult being popular."

Itaru only gave her a scowl, and suddenly imagined her confessing to someone. For some reason, all he could picture was a plate of curry, which looked kind of wrong, but also made sense in his head. He couldn't even forget her drunken confession last week, her plan, basically, to marry the restaurant owner of the curry place they visited during the company's latest get-together. He had to stop her silly train of thought because while the owner was affable enough, they were also happily married to someone else. Regardless, Izumi insisted he help her shop for a ring until she finally passed out from the alcohol in her head.

He quite disliked the idea of Izumi seeing someone else, for various reasons, none of which he was ready to scrutinize right now, and he went to bed quite restless that night. 

“Here,” Izumi plucked a folder from the pile she was carrying and passed it to him. “It’s a projection of the financial budget we’ll need for the next collaborative project, one you’re supposed to be working on right now.”

The scolding tone made him feel somewhat guilty, and he tucked the chocolates under his arm again to glance briefly at the files she handed him. More work, and he could feel his stamina draining already from looking at it. By the time Itaru finished analyzing his probable workload for the rest of the day, with additional calculation on how he could fit in five-minute gaming breaks, they arrived at their floor. 

The elevator doors parted, and another unfamiliar woman greeted them on the other side, whose face immediately brightened upon seeing Itaru’s presence. “Chigasaki-kun.”

Like reflex, Itaru immediately slipped into his princely persona, while Izumi looked on worriedly. 

“Good morning,” he added that soft, lazy smile effect. Izumi had to look away to clear the bug in her throat. Stepping out of the elevator seemed like he would accidentally set off an unexpected event, but he had no choice. It seemed rude to just pretend they arrived at the wrong floor. 

“Could I have a moment with you for a second?,” the woman’s eyes pleaded, almost desperately.

He struggled to say a response, but then he suddenly felt Izumi pat him softly in the back in reassurance, before she slithered away down the corridor. Itaru watched her for a moment, his mind briefly wondering if she prepared something for him as well, seeing as she happened to be the only one who refused to take more of his precious break, before turning to face the woman again and promising to hear her out. For some reason, he felt quite disappointed at the thought of Izumi forgetting about him, on this day of all days, before banishing the ridiculous thoughts away. His mysterious, past memories were playing tricks again.

###### 

They were eating at the cafe, aptly named _Secret Garden_ , the usual spot for Itaru to unashamedly play games on his phone (and sometimes switch, conveniently tucked away in his briefcase) without his cover being completely ruined and simultaneously eat lunch, while Izumi accompanies him and does the same, minus the gaming, but occasionally bringing last minute work. 

Much like its name, the place was quite hidden from the main street, but the inside was open enough, with high ceiling windows that allowed for natural light and multiple flora decorating the warm, cozy place. As usual, they were seated at the farthest corner of the loft upstairs, with enough room for privacy, but it also gave Izumi and Itaru some leeway in who was potentially entering and exiting the place. Likewise, it was far enough from the office to escape the notice of their colleagues, but also secluded enough that Itaru could stop playing the persona, if only for half an hour. 

He was tapping his foot, debating if he should waste his hard-earned jewels to roll for his favorite character on his favorite mobile game, B3!, or simply wait until the work day finished to buy more gaming app cards, when Izumi slumped in the seat across from him. Then, she let out a frustrated groan.

Itaru muttered something incoherent, possibly agreeing, and tugged on her wrist before she could say anything else. “Press this.” 

“What- What-”

Before Izumi could think, her finger was suddenly pressed against Itaru's smartphone, until it was quickly snatched away again, and he looked at it with great concentration. A bright light flashed momentarily from the device, and Itaru grinned in excitement and proceeded to kiss his phone. Leaning back, Izumi crossed her arms and blinked.

"I could always count on you to bring me Sachan's SRs," Itaru nodded. "It's probably 'cause you're twins."

Izumi gave him another one of her unsure looks, the kind her face makes whenever he compares her to a character in one of his mobile games. Truthfully, Izumi could never see the semblance, aside from the long brown hair, but Itaru insisted on more than that, including the character's obsession for a certain food and their penchant for the color blue. However, he also added that Sachan was cuter on a daily basis with her greetings, and Izumi didn't know how to absorb that information.

Pursing her lips, Izumi looked down at the table and picked at her sandwich mournfully. "I think I have to go back to the office. A client emergency again."

Itaru grunted again, before the weight of her words sunk. “Wait, you’re going back?”

Izumi continued shoving her arms in her peacoat. “Yeah. Gotta handle something-”

Izumi paused once she noticed Itaru was doing the same thing, clicking off his phone, pushing his half-eaten lunch meal aside, and readying himself to leave. 

“What are you doing?”

“You’re leaving, I’m coming back with you,” he stated obviously, avoiding the blatant reason in his heart. 

Was it the past connection that made him feel this? Or was it because of the trouble that happened about three weeks ago? Again, the fleeting worry refused to leave his mind, so he just left it at that. 

“Well, but what about your game?”

Itaru shrugged. “I can just go to the bathroom and hide there for awhile.”

“But-”

“Come on. Just buy me more app play cards when we get home.”

Now, Izumi grunted in response as Itaru steered her out the door.

###### 

Izumi easily handled the ‘emergency’, reassuring the client’s fears for half an hour over the phone, while Itaru excused himself to some obscure part of the building where he could game in peace. She didn’t know if he returned to his office by the time the lunch break finished, but the urge to grab a bite was finally calling her, after denying her stomach of food for so long, and she needed to take a break.

By the time she made it to the break room, however, the ladies from her floor were gossiping about Itaru again, and she couldn't help but overhear some of their comments as she busily grabbed her curry leftovers from the employee fridge.

They continued painting Itaru as the son or grandson of a wealthy, retired CEO; his backstory included something of having a frail, sickly body growing up who overcame his debilitating disease, and now lives the life of an elite businessman who enjoys drinking red wine during dinner with his cat, reading Forbes’ in his downtime with earl grey tea, visits his foreign cousins from abroad, and spends his days lamenting over his ex-fiance who left him for an awful man. They were nice conjectures, but all Izumi could see in her mind was Itaru’s cute top-knot, yellow blazer, loose pants, and angrily shouting curse words at his PC for three hours, and she couldn’t utter a single honest word agreeing with their comments about Itaru’s fictional persona. 

It was ironic, in a sense. Sometimes, when he didn’t open his mouth, he looked almost unbelievably handsome and unrealistic. Almost. But then he says, “Totes. GJ.” and other words she needs to look up in some urban dictionary, and Izumi feels relieved again; she liked Itaru’s off-mode better than his fabricated appearance. By the time her shift ended, she was watching him again, the kind that always made her stop and stare at his profile from a distance. 

It was hard to put a name to her own feelings, because she was always protective of him; there was a comforting, familiar feeling being in his presence, the way he treats her, their silly banter, and those fleeting emotions she could never put into more words. While she did admit to having a minor crush on him during their University days, she couldn’t, or perhaps, wouldn’t exactly come to say that she’s romantically interested in him, rather, it was almost… _like… she couldn’t lose him anymore. Not again._

_**What?** _

Izumi blinked, shook her head, and made her way to him, still preoccupied by the game on his phone, and waiting by the lobby doors. Unconsciously, she crossed her arms behind her back to hide the goods she’d been saving for him throughout the day.

###### 

He could feel her presence from a mile away, the odd sensation reminding Itaru again of his past, hidden powers, and everything else in between that he couldn’t explain. In technical terms, it was almost as if Izumi carried a GPS chip inside her body, and only Itaru could notice it blinking, indicating her location. He wondered if his past self also recognized the onmyouji lady like this, the connection tugging like a string, and he looked up from his smartphone to see Izumi, scurrying towards him, hands behind her back.

"Good work today, Izumi," he drawled automatically, recognizing another stupid smile on her face.

"Good work today, too, Itaru," she responded happily, as if today's exhaustion never bothered her in the first place. "Here. This is for you-"

He blinked stupidly at the colorful package she shoved in his hands, similar to the ones he received earlier, before turning it over to see three miniature chocolates in the shape of gaming controllers, arranged neatly in the middle of the box. 

"I know how much you hated being interrupted during your so-called breaks and lunch, and this was the only time I could give it to you," Izumi added meaningfully. "Happy Valentine's day."

_No matter the place or time._

Something tugs again at Itaru's heart, familiar but also foreign. Sometimes, the feelings of someone else, an old forgotten memory from a long ago past, would flit through him and his mind, and Itaru wonders if the yearning he feels for her was his, or someone else's.

_I will always protect you._

He could feel himself blushing, and he shook his head. Going soft, how embarrassing. He had to look away, to gather his bearings, before ruffling her hair.

"Yeah, uh, thanks," he cleared his throat. 

She moved closer. "You're welcome… Now, stop bothering Tsuzuru okay?"

"Are you bribing me with this?"

Izumi tried to playfully elbow him in the stomach, but he dodged in time, and suddenly asked if she could accompany him to the arcade this afternoon, unbeknownst of the grin forming on his face. Itaru refused to say, out loud, that he wanted to spend more time with her before they go home, and he watched Izumi’s expression briefly change into wonder and confusion before agreeing, just as he knew she would.

**Author's Note:**

> i know there's no plot here, just me indulging in itaizu, but i also wanted to drop enough hints about the main plot itself without giving too much away for now. it's just- it's better that way, because it's not really my au to tell, but matsu gave me permission to write this anyway. all i'm going to say is that, this au... is definitely one of the most interesting conversations we've had so far. much sadness. much to think about.


End file.
